I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but if you’re in the northern hemisphere, it’s summer — and wedding and events season! With party season comes invitations, and with invitations comes invitation calligraphy.

It’s always been my philosophy that the envelope builds up anticipation for whatever is inside of the envelope. If the envelope is super-cool, just imagine what’s inside! Before I started selling calligraphy, I would look on Etsy and salivate at the amazing wedding calligraphy on the site. For months, I wondered, “HOW do they do that??” {as I used my cheating calligraphy method in the meantime}.

Some of the more artistic photos on Etsy included photos of a funny-looking calligraphy pen; a sort of Frankenstein’s monster pen with a strange appendage. I had no idea what it was called at the time {I had no luck with “Frankenstein Calligraphy Pen” on Google}, but now I know it’s an oblique calligraphy pen. And it’s your new best friend if you’re in the market for making some seriously cool text.

Today, I’m going to show you how to make a show-stopper envelope that will leave your pen pal or event invitee floored. But first, you’ll need a few things:

The most important thing to purchase is an oblique calligraphy pen. I live in Boulder, CO, a relatively populous area, and I couldn’t find one in town (at least, there wasn’t one at Michael’s or the paperie downtown). Dually, I enlisted the ever-trusty Amazon.com, and it was there I found the oblique calligraphy pen I now call my own.

You’ll notice that here I am planning to use a black envelope and white ink. The opaque white ink was not easy to find, but eventually I tracked some down at MrArt.com. I recommend stocking up because the shipping cost on Mr. Art is about $10.00. Don’t discount the possibility that a local store may carry calligraphy inks as well; I was able to purchase every color but white at Michael’s.

Then, of course, you’ll want a ruler and a pencil, plus an envelope.

Your first step, as always in my calligraphy tutorials, is to create light guidelines using your pencil and ruler. Make sure your lines run parallel to the top and bottom of your envelope.

Now, before you jump the gun and start writing, I’d like to show you how to hold your oblique calligraphy pen.

See? It’s not difficult. You just hold it like a regular pen or pencil. The Frankenstein appendage is there to make your life easier: you write just like you normally would, but the pen provides you with an angle that otherwise would be tough to achieve.

This may be self-explanatory, but you’ll dip your pen in your ink — don’t overdo it. Generally I just dip 1/4″ {0.6 cm} of the nib in the ink. Do more and you’ll risk having a big drop of ink ruin your potential masterpiece.

Then you’ll start writing, utilizing a marriage of pressure and no pressure to make a gorgeous work of art. When you stroke down, apply pressure. When you stroke up, apply very little pressure. This gives you thin lines on the upstrokes and nice, fat lines on the downstrokes.

I can write ’til the cows come home about how to do this, but to be honest I think it will be easier for you to watch me. I don’t think I’ll be going to Hollywood anytime soon, but despite that, enjoy this video detailing how to use your oblique calligraphy pen {and what not to do}.

Once you’re finished, your masterpiece should look something like this. The wonderful thing about calligraphy ink is it takes minutes to dry. I’d wait five minutes to be safe, then use a good eraser {I like Staedtler Mars Plastic} to eradicate any evidence you used guidelines.

I recently discovered the multi-stamp look and I love it. If you’re having an event and want your envelopes and stamps to be absolutely stellar, check out Edelweiss Post on Etsy. Owner Patrick pre-stamps pretty envelopes with stunning vintage stamps. Everything is all color-coordinated, unique, and ready to go! You can find unused vintage postage stamps at many shops on Etsy, and believe it or not the post office still accepts them {provided you’ve got sufficient postage on your envelope}.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how it’s done! If you have any questions, of course don’t hesitate to comment. If not, have fun using your oblique calligraphy pen — and knock yourself out impressing the post office!

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YOU + A BRUSH PEN = GORGEOUS LETTERING

Learn brush pen calligraphy from scratch with the new Kaitlin Style Calligraphy worksheets + videos. Kaitlin Style is a whimsical, artistic way of lettering that's perfect for making word art, decorated envelopes, and signs!